Summary

Robert Baratheon (King of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros) and his Queen, Cersei Lannister, travel north to make his old friend Eddard "Ned" Stark – Lord of the frozen land of Winterfell – an offer he cannot refuse. Across the narrow sea in Essos, the exiled Prince Viserys Targaryen forges a new alliance to regain the Iron Throne; he will trade his sister Daenerys in marriage to the savage Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo in exchange for Drogo's army. Back in Winterfell, Ned's wife Catelyn receives a clue that may implicate members of the royal family in a murder, and their young son Bran makes a jaw-dropping discovery.